If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Cool stuff. Though I'm disappointed they didn't mention any of the HOI games. I can understand why they'd want to gloss over HOI3 (because it was a mess at release), but still...

And also the difference between how their internally developed games and their published games have worked out. QA has to be a very different thing depending on whether you're making the game yourself or not.

... there's also the whole Magna Mundi affair, but that deserves a separate article.

Interesting read. I've been following Pdox since 2000 or so, even played D&D by chat client for awhile with Johan (great guy). I appreciate the continual push towards improvement, but I'm really disappointed to see that EU4 is a Steam exclusive. I'd been under the impression that they were working towards their own store with some form of unobtrusive DRM. I'm sure they'll do fine without my support, but I've always taken a certain pleasure in supporting their games at full price even when I didn't have time to play them.

The game is DRM-free, but sold on steam, same as the rest of their games.

With all their prior (in-house developed) titles, there's always been another option. I understand they're just using Steam as a single-stream update path, I understand the appeal of that, but it's still not a move I feel I can support. I'll pick the game up eventually, but it'll be at a Steam-appropriate price. They've already figured this into their calculations, anyway. They know about 10% of their audience won't buy Steam-required titles, or won't buy Steam-required games at more than a pittance. The "DRM-free once it's at the end of its development lifetime" aspect is nice, but basically means I'll just pick it up once all the DLC and patches have come out so I can back it up properly.

CK2 is DRM free since release, and has 2+ more years of planned content down the line.

Right, but one is dependent on the distribution platform for those updates until they stop, so it's not like you're really "free" of DRM until the end of development. I mind being tied to Gamersgate for that period a lot less than I mind being tied to Steam.

Don't get me wrong, this entire situation could be a LOT worse, in that they could be using Steam as "real" DRM for the lifetime of the product. That'd result in an "I'll never buy this game" position, because that kind of thing simply isn't acceptable in a grand strategy game I might genuinely want to play 10 years from now. As it stands, this is just a value-subtraction, which is what Steam always is.

I suppose it's about time I caught up to the curve anwyay. Pdox has been deflating the value of their games for years with near-instant, massive sales. It was only good-will that kept me supporting them at full price, and I guess I've run out.

You're not tied to Steam any more than Gamersgate. You can just launch Steam, buy, download, and install the DLC, and then close Steam and play the game without it. Works like Gamersgate, except Steam takes up a little bit of room on your hard drive.

You're not tied to Steam any more than Gamersgate. You can just launch Steam, buy, download, and install the DLC, and then close Steam and play the game without it. Works like Gamersgate, except Steam takes up a little bit of room on your hard drive.

Yup, I'm fully aware. As stated, I mind being tied to Gamersgate a lot less than I mind being tied to Steam, even when the parameters are identical. It's simple, really: any good will I have towards Paradox is cancelled out by my absolute distaste for Steam, so there's no reason whatsoever not to wait for the full DLC suite and all the patch work to finish, then buy the complete package for $2.50 or whatever it's selling for at that point.

Eh, I shouldn't even be posting here and derailing the thread, I'm just saddened that a favorite publisher/developer of mine has crawled so firmly into bed with a company I actively dislike.